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One of my favorite food pastimes when I’m in Walt Disney World is grabbing a table at one of the resort’s fantastic pubs, bars, or lounges, and sitting down with friends for a nice long talk. There’s always so much to catch up on!

But in addition to the atmosphere and some nice cocktails, I also love Disney watering holes for some truly amazing eats! We are a snacking people here at DFB, so it’s no wonder the delicious pub grub you can find on property is one of our favorite ways to enjoy time with friends.

On this edition of “The Best Thing I Ever Ate in Disney!”, let’s check out some of our favorite Pub Grub!

Once you finish reading — share YOUR favorites in the comments! I love hearing about new things I’ve gotta try!

Cheese Fondue from Territory Lounge

When it comes to snacking, there are few foods in the world that I’d rather have than cheese! And one of my favorite ways to enjoy it is in the form of things being dipped in its melty self!

That’s right — we’re talking Fondue! And some of the best I have ever tasted is on the menu at Territory Lounge in Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.

This rustic, cozy lounge is themed with the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest in mind. And the menu features hearty fare with flavors of the region as well.

But this cheese fondue is my absolute favorite option here! I can never resist getting it. It arrives in its own little cast-iron pot, complete with a flame to keep the cheese nice and warm.

Our Favorite Cheese Fondue at Territory Lounge

The fondue is served with a variety of Fruits and Breads to dip, and every single thing we dipped in it was amazing!

Located at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn Resort, the American pub-style restaurant features a primo location to see and be seen right on the Boardwalk. But, I’ll be right up front with you and tell you now that this has NOT been my favorite place to eat at Disney in the past.

However, we came to it with an open mind hoping to find some improvements on our last visit. We were rewarded with a much, much better experience than in times past! What did they do right on this visit? Read on…

Atmosphere

The entrance to the restaurant on the Boardwalk, beneath an awning bearing the restaurant’s name.

Big River Grille & Brewing Works

Once inside, you’ll notice that there are three distinct seating areas within the restaurant: the bar area to the right; the seating area to the left, a rather nondescript space; and a patio area offering great views of the Boardwalk, the lake, and the Yacht and Beach Club on the other side of water. (You may even see the tops of Illuminations fireworks from here.)

There are a few good reasons to head over to Big River Grille:
1.) It’s normally pretty easy to get into, so if you’re hungry and don’t have an advance dining reservation, or you’re at Epcot or Hollywood Studios and would like to skip out on the park crazy for a while, this can be a good place to come for a bite and a sip.

2.) As I mentioned above, it’s the only working microbrewery at Disney, and the beers are quite popular! (More on the beer a little later.) It’s also pretty cool to look around the interior and see just where your brew is being produced.

I finally get to share some food pics and reviews from Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival Center! I’ll be putting together blog posts specifically about merchandise and the Festival Center soon, but I always give the food pics priority, as you know Here’s how the Festival Food (beer and wine will be discussed separately) is set up, for those of you who might not have been here, yet:

The Festival Center: Here, you can find the “Taste of California” items — eight tapas-sized portions of food representing California, the Festival Center “Wine Seller,” other festival merchandise items, a Stella Artois-hosted “Star Lounge” and Belgian Brewers Collection, and one of the festival seminar locations.

Around Disney’s California Adventure: Throughout DCA, you can find six dining locations offering “festival-inspired” dishes, like “Mangia Meatballs” and Award Weiners!

Eats

Today, I headed to the Festival Center to nosh on several of the “Taste of California” Marketplace items as well as try out the brand-spanking new, still-in-testing-stages, 106-flavor, “PurePour” Coke Machine…which I’ll be telling you all about in the next week or so. Here’s the full list of food items available. These all cost between $3 and $5:

We started out with a selection of Artisinal Cheeses:

This included three extremely mild cheeses — the Cheddar had [Read more…]